LaPaz and Isla Espiritu

The island of Isla Espiritu, which is where most of the dive sites are, is about a 1 ½ - 2-hour boat ride from La Paz. We’ve done this before, just for a day, so when we found that Fun Baja had a 3-day, 2-night diving/camping trip we quickly signed up.

We travelled out on a small boat with the captain, Angel (Pronounced An-hell), and dive master, Maria.  It was a windy day, which meant a rough ride in such a small boat. But we were happy to be on our own.

Clam shell sculpture along the malecon in La Paz.

LaPaz sunset.

The ferry from Mazatlan.

Isla Espiritu landscape.

The camping was much more elaborate than what we’d imagined. Tents big enough to stand up in, a cot on each side and a small plastic “dresser” in the middle. There was a water bucket outside the door for rinsing sand off feet and a doormat. There were also toilet and shower facilities in addition to well-staffed kitchen. 

The camp was busy with all the competitors from a free-diving competition also there. It was interesting to learn about their sport. 

Our "glamping" accommodations.

We even had showers!

Heading out to dive.

The sea lions were very playful!

Without the long boat rides at either end of the day, we were able to do three dives per day as well as one night dive. We loved the sea lions, as they were very friendly and playful. Andrew got some great photos of them and I was pretty happy with the way my video turned out. 

The night dive was to see the mobulas. The dive operation hangs a big light down from the boat to attract the plankton, which in turn attracts the mobulas. It was amazing how many there were! 

While wreck dives normally aren’t our dives of preference, the Fang Ming wreck had lots of sea life around it including a resident turtle that moved only a few feet the whole time we were there. 

This video includes a variety of sea life from our other dives around Isla Espiritu. I especially love the jawfish and the bullseye electric ray. 

The pelicans have marked their territory.

We're even seeing fish in the sky. This is a trumpetfish. 

Going for a hike.

We really enjoyed the first two days with Angel and Maria. Unfortunately, on the third day we got shuffled to a slightly larger boat with four other divers (with another dive master) and then to yet another even larger boat with another 12 people for the ride back to La Paz. Luckily we didn’t lose any gear in all the shuffling of equipment between boats! 

We stayed at the Posada de las Flores in La Paz (a beautiful old hotel on the malecon) and wished we’d taken an extra day to relax and enjoy it before moving on so quickly. We have to remember to take a holiday during our holiday!

Leaving the bay where our campsite was.

Arriving back at LaPaz marina.

Boat Launching 101 at Cabo Pulmo

Cabo Pulmo is a National Marine Park that is heavily regulated. Both locals and non-locals alike have worked extremely hard to keep this area protected and preserved. They continuously fight off the advances of mega resort operations who want to come in and take over. Keep your fingers crossed that never happens in this beautiful remote area!

No docks are allowed to be built in the park so getting the dive boats in and out of the water is quite an operation that has obviously been rehearsed many times! Here's how it goes:

Drive the truck and boat, on a trailer, down to the beach.

Take the pieces of rebar out of the hitch at the front and drop it on the ground.

Attach another hitch, with a very long pole at the front, to the back the trailer.

Drive the truck around to the back of the boat; re-hitch the trailer; back the trailer up to the water's edge.

Load the divers in the boat.

Back the trailer into the water.

Drive the boat off the trailer.

To reverse the process:

Have the divers jump off the boat and walk to shore.

Push the trailer into the water.

Drive the boat onto the trailer.

Tie boat onto the trailer. 

Drag tow rope into the water.

Drive boat, with trailer attached, around so that rope can be hooked onto boat.

Pull boat out of the water with truck.

Re-attach regular hitch to front of boat and haul boat back to the dive shop.

Voila! Done!

Loreto Under Water

I started the week in Loreto with 158 dives under my belt. Because we only dive once or twice a year, I usually spend the first dive or two flailing away like I’m a total newbie until I get comfortable and figure out my buoyancy again.

But this time, I was fine the very first dive! Maybe because it’s also the first time using a camera (GoPro) underwater so I had that to concentrate on instead.

It’s also the first time that I consistently used less air than Andrew. Progress, for sure! I didn’t have to resort to making sure I didn’t go as deep in order to end up with the same or at least close to the same amount of air by the end of the dive.

The GoPro does a reasonable job with video, even in deep water. I took a lot of photos the first few dives and only saved a few of them. It really only worked well in the shallower water where there was lots of light, and on subjects like starfish that don’t move too fast.

The videos aren’t stellar (to be posted in near future). The visibility wasn’t great on a few of the dives and I need to figure out how to hold the camera a bit steadier. Oh well, it’s fun to try it out and see what I can produce with it. Hopefully I get better with practice! 

Scorpion Fish

On Land in Loreto

Our days in Loreto have woven into a similar pattern.

• Wake at 6:30 am
• Eat breakfast
• Check email etc.
• Meet at dive shop just before (or just after) 8 am
• Head out on the boat for two dives
• Return to Loreto between 2 and 3 pm
• Shower and veg out for a while
• Go out for one of the following: beer, coffee/tea, popsicle 
• Download the days' photos & video
• Go out for supper
• Review more photos and videos while trying not to nod off too early in the evening
• Fall asleep within about two minutes of head hitting the pillow

Wake up the next day and repeat!

In other words, it's been a busy but relaxing time! We love the quiet small town and the local people are so friendly. We're staying in a nice little studio apartment about a block from the water and just steps to the main town square. We keep saying we need to stay longer and take a few days off from diving to do some more exploring around the area. There's so much to do and it's such a beautiful place.

Here's a few, mostly land-based, photos from the town and area.

Blue-Footed Booby

Pelican hanging out at the marina.

Pelican about to launch.

Saturday morning fishing crew lined up along the marina.

On the boat, enroute to diving.

Puerto Escondido

Sunset on the malecon.

Looking back at Loreto (La Mision Hotel is largest building.)

The beach on Coronado Island -- taking a break between dives.

Coronado Island -- a walkway and interpretive path.

Misión de Nuestra Señora de Loreto Conchó, or Mission Loreto
(Yes, I cut and pasted the above caption!)

Town square. The lovely old Posada de las Flores Hotel on the right. No idea who the bodyless dude is.

Along the malecon.

Santa Barbara Mission

On our last morning in Santa Barbara we headed to the Mission (founded in 1786). It's such a beautiful and historical place. The inside is beautiful too but me and my little camera just don't do it justice like Andrew and his camera do.

The skulls at the top of the door signify a cemetery nearby.

It was great to see that even the Mission is looking at ways to help the environment.

The couple days before this, we got Chris to help us re-pack our reserve chutes and got one more paragliding flight from the VOR with Lorenzo and a few other pilots. It was a fairly light day so we waited a while for the winds to cooperate and then had just a bit more than a sled ride to the landing zone.

Re-packing reserve chute.